Inland Empire runners in Boston avoid injury but not rattled nerves

The contingent of Boston Marathon runners from the Inland Empire managed to avoid the many injuries caused by Monday afternoon's explosions, but their proximity to the event left most pretty shaken.

San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District general manager Doug Headrick completed the race well before the explosions, which occurred while he was on his way to the airport.

"There are so many emotions associated with finishing a marathon, and it would be a terrifying experience without being completely spent," he said by email.

"There were many emotions of runners and families at the airport. I saw several crying as they watched the replays on television. Everyone was sending texts and emails letting friends and family know that they were safe. One group was frantically trying to find out if a fellow runner of theirs had been injured as they were to be finishing about the time the explosions happened," Headrick added.

Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Guy Favatella of La Verne did extra duty Monday after the race. A member of the Inland Empire Running Club, he responded to those injured by assisting in the emergency tent, said club director Ken Itahara. He was one of 20 club runners participating in the marathon.

Another of their runners who is visually impaired didn't finish the race. The runner Regine Sediva, 46, of Chino Hills, is legally blind.

"She was scheduled to come in around when the explosion came in, but I'm pretty sure that she was taken off the route," he said. "She runs with a sign that says she's visually impaired. "

Three members of the Chino Hills-based SoCal Pacers Club finished the marathon under four hours and were some distance away from the finish line at the time of the explosion, said Patrice Daskas, vice president of the club.

"It's tough time to celebrate," Daskas said. "You have to qualify for this marathon, the cream of the crop, and for them it's bittersweet. You just feel bad about celebrating when people were injured or killed. "

Loma Linda resident and photographer Dexter Emoto said he was 500 to 600 feet from the explosions.

"First, I heard a loud noise, a really loud explosion, and all the runners looked and I saw a plume of smoke come out," Emoto said from the Colannade Hotel in Boston. Then came the second blast.

Emoto works as a registered nurse for Loma Linda University Medical Center and was at the race to take pictures for the American Medical Athletic Association.

"It seems surreal," said Emoto, who witnessed several injuries near the blast site, the most severe being those of a runner whose legs were blown off. Others nearby suffered injuries to their legs.

Responders had sufficient personnel on hand to tend to the victims, Emoto said. He and other witnesses were ushered into hotel rooms shortly after the blasts.

"They ordered us to stay put," he said.

All members of the Redlands Runegades avoided injury from the blasts on Monday, reported Bob Walker, via email.

"Many of our people have reported in and say that they are OK," said Walker. "One of our runners was still on the course at mile 19, so she was probably diverted away from the downtown area after the blast. One of our runners reports that she is getting lots of text messages from concerned friends, but that they are having trouble with phone calls because of the activity. "

Lulu Tyner of Chino, a member of the Inland Empire Running Club, didn't participate in the Boston Marathon Monday but instead ran in a 5K race Sunday.

Tyner said 10 members of the club were at the 20-mile mark cheering on the other runners.

It wasn't until the group exited the Kenmore Station near Fenway Park that the explosion occurred.

"The (Red Sox) baseball game just ended, and everyone was all hoping to get on the train and they couldn't. They didn't know what was happening," Tyner said.

"You could smell that something was burning ... but we had no idea what it was until we started getting texts. We were receiving texts but couldn't send any."

Veteran marathoner Kipp Jones was on his way to LAX on Friday when he decided he wasn't going to run the Boston Marathon.

"I didn't have a good feeling about going," the 45-year-old Long Beach resident said Monday.

Jones, who works in the recycling business, has run multiple long-distance races, including the New York Marathon.

He spent Monday at work, watching the tragedy unfold in Boston.

The first explosion occurred at the time Jones said he typically finishes a marathon.

"My intuition said not to go ..." Jones said. "My palms are sweating and my hands are shaking. That's right in my wheelhouse. That's right when I finish - 4:05 to 4:10. "

Maryann Boosalis, 26, of La Canada Flintridge was one of three members of the Pasadena Pacers Running Club team in the marathon Monday.

Boosalis, a grad student at Cal State Northridge, had finished the race about a half-hour before the explosions and had walked back to her hotel with her mother, Kathy, a few blocks away when they saw the shocking news unfold on television.

"I thought, is this real? I didn't know. I was really confused," Boosalis said by phone. "Thank God, we had just missed it. We've been hearing nonstop sirens going by the hotel. They're still going by. It's crazy. "